Croats lack protection in Bosnia as Islamists put threats

Croats in the northeastern Bosnian town of Brcko have asked local authorities to protect them, after receiving threats from an extremist Islamic group in the nearby village of Gornja Maoca, according to local media.

Brcko is a multi-ethnic town under international control, with a mixed Muslim, Croat and Serb population, but a community of Wahhabi Muslims has settled nearby, preaching the most radical form of Islam.

Bosnia's majority Muslim population has radicalised since the 1992-1995 civil war when hundreds of mujahadeen from other Muslim countries came to fight on their side - with many remaining in the country. Gornja Maoca Wahabi leaders recently said that Catholic Croats were “the worst kind of crusaders” and should all be exterminated.

Brcko Croat leader, Anto Domic, said that “Croats in the Brcko area live in fear” and called on the local authorities to protect them against Wahhabi threats. Domic said it was unbelievable that neither Brcko officials nor institutions reacted to the threats and demanded that the municipal parliament examine the issue, AKI reports.